[G.T.]

Hi Bill! Finding someone who knows about the process of molding plastic back then is pretty tough! Although Baekolite (not the correct spelling) has been around a long time, I suspect the molding machines and tooling used in grip production was state of the art at that time.....other plastics were unique and rare, that is why you sometimes see plexi-glass fashioned into grips and handles, it was definitly something different and special at the time. But it is pretty evident that Baekolite was eclipsed early on in the war years, and pretty much forgotten after that!

Baekolite has some serious draw backs when used as a material for mass production. The early molds did not have sprues or risers, and the phenolic resins used (in a powder form) were preset to a certain size or weight...this measure of material was then set into the mold where the top & bottom would come together under heat and pressure to form the part.....after the part was finished, you then had to extract it manually from the bottom half of the mold. Also, at this time, the part would still be hot! Sometimes on complex parts, a sharp rap with a mallet or rawhide hammer, on the removal fixture, is needed to shock the part loose. It was certainly far from an exact science at that time........When I was in a college plastics class, I asked a few questions to my professor about the subject, and the above is what I remember....till....later.....G.T.